Many findings came out of the trip. Especially, it became apparent that building low-cost houses to cater for the immediate needs of the poor is much more than just setting up four walls and a ceiling.

One participant expressed it this way: “It is important to realize that there is a difference between a 'home' and a 'house'. A house is four walls and a ceiling covering an immediate need, whereas a home is a place you own and in which you live. Most people support quality of life and well-being rather than survival. I'm afraid this was not part of the public housing projects in South Africa, which were characterized by poor architectural and technical quality, and therefore the houses will look and feel slummy, dusty, and unpaved after eight years. It doesn't have to be that way.”

Other areas, such as improving the design of medical facilities, and supplying quality consumer goods through small scale distribution networks, were discussed as possible new areas for Danish companies to do business at the BOP in South Africa.

Five Danish and two South African companies participated in the study trip. In addition, representatives from FABCOS (a Johannesburg based business association), Gordon Institute for Business Science (GIBS), Afrikaanse Handelsinsitut (AHI), the Embassy of Denmark in Pretoria, and IFU took part in the trip.

The BOP study trip was the first of its kind in DI’s history.

The full publication from the study trip can be found here